Kirby Knowle to Felixkirk and Boltby
8.5 miles Warm and sunny
We approached Kirby Knowle from the Knayton A19 turn-off and parked on the grassed area set aside for parking, opposite St Wilfred's Church.
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| Today's walk from The Walker's Guide to the Hambleton Hills |
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| St Wilfred's Church, Kirby Knowle |
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| A lovely display of daffodils at St Wilfred's |
The church was open to visitors so we walked over and had a look around.
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| Looking towards the altar |
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| Modern window, see text below |
We like the modern stained glass windows dedicated to Doctor Jane Rajan.
For more about the window and Dr Rajan see here
We walked out of the village along the tarmac road towards Upsall (up-salir, Old Norse 'high dwellings') . Over to our right, high on the hill, one can see the imposing 'Newbuilding.' Originally called Kirby Knowle Castle and sometimes referred to as Newbiggin, Tom Scott Burns explains that this actually dates from the13th century. It has been restored and modernised but still retains many of its original features.
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| Leaving Kirby Knowle |
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| Newbuilding |
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| .... or Newbiggin |
Just before Upsall we turned off the road into fields at a metal footpath sign to follow a little walked path towards Turton Beckstead. Tom Scott Burn's walks often follow rarely visited paths but today's route must be the least walked of all and there was no sign that other boots had passed this way.
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| Turn left off the road at the metal sign |
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| A hare spots us and quickly leaves |
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| Unwalked fields |
We reached Miller's Wood and followed the path down to Turton Beckstead. 'Beckstead' means 'a farm near a river' and in previous years we have found a large stone block engraved with the words 'Turton Beckstead'. We haven't seen the stone for a couple of years but Clive noticed a large moss covered block and investigations showed this was our missing stone.
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| Millers Wood |
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| Through the trees |
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| This block looks interesting |
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| Clive gets to work with a stick |
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| 'The Turton Beckstead' |
We were pleased to have found the Turton Beckstead stone and decided that the next time we do this walk we'll bring a wire brush and clean it up properly. Tom Scott Burns relates a strange event that apparently happened here. In the 1860s some mourners were carrying a body from Felixkirk to Kirby Knowle for burial. The bearers set down the coffin to rest briefly at this spot, but on raising it up again it felt much lighter and they discovered that the corpse had disappeared. The empty coffin was buried and the site at Beckstead Wood became known as Lost Corpse End.
It is a fact that bodies were carried by this route from Felixkirk to Kirby Knowle for burial, so that much at least is true.
Leaving Turton Beckstead we climbed gently over Carr Hill to approach the village of Felixkirk.
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| Following field margins... |
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| ... and occasional way marks |
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| ... we reach Felixkirk |
We reached the tarmac road at Mount View and turned right to walk into Felixkirk and the church of St Felix. The most striking feature of the church is the domed roof. There are only six churches dedicated to St Felix in the UK. He was a 7th century monk from Burgundy who converted the kingdom of East Anglia to Christianity. The use of the name suggests there has been a church here since Saxon times. The church was restored in 1860 but much of the stonework is original and dates to the 12th century.
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| The Wren Man of Thirlby has made the gate |
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| Clive spots sheep and lambs in the graveyard |
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| Triplets! "We keep the grass short" |
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| Unusual domed roof |
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| A knight |
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| .. and his lady |
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| Graffitti or mason's signature? Thomas Carlton 1629 |
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| Hannah the lamented wife of David Cornforth. "20 years I was a maid, 1 year I was a wife, 18 hours a mother, And then departed life" |
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| "Afflictions sore I did bear, Physicians their skill tried, I left my wife and childer dear, for GOD to be their guide" |
Note the use of the word 'Childer' in the epitaph above, Yorkshire dialect for children.
St Felix Church was owned by the Knights Hospitaller in the 12th century and nearby Mount St John, which we would shortly pass by, was the location of a preceptory of the Order of St John of Jerusalem in the 11th Century.
Retracing our steps to the road junction we turned right and climbed the lane to pass the lodge of the said Mount St John, now famous for its equestrian centre and gardens. Shortly afterwards we turned right off the road and onto a farm track that we followed towards Cinque House, but here the track diverts from TSB's map above, as it has been re-routed to a sheep field around the rear of Cinque House. This sloping field has a lovely view and makes an ideal rest stop, so we paused to enjoy our coffee and scones.
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| Walking towards Thirlby |
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| House in Thirlby |
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| Some nice weather vanes in Thirlby |
Thirlby is a very attractive village and a point of interest is that Alf White aka James Herriot lived here. Also in the village is a plaque to his veterinary partner Donald Sinclair, who appeared in the books as Seigfried Farnon. Sinclair lived in nearby Southwoods Hall with his wife Audrey.
'James Herriot' died in February 1995 and Sinclair's wife in early June the same year. Sadly Sinclair (Seigfried) then took his own life by barbiturate poisoning two weeks later. The plaque is near to the village hall. We think it's strange that there is no memorial to James Herriot in the village, surely its most famous resident.
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| Thirlby Village Hall |
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| Memorial to Donald Sinclair (Seigfried) |
A little further along the high street we came to Pear Tree House, the home of the Wren. Bob Hunter worked with 'Mousey' Thomson at nearby Kilburn where he learned his carpentry skills. While Thomson chose the mouse as his symbol Hunter uses the wren and it is to be seen on various houses in the village.
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A bench near the beck is the work of the wren man. 'No shop or inn is there here about, so why not sit down and enjoy summat for nowt' - donated by 'two good sorts in memory of Bill'.
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We continued along the lane through the village, crossed the ford and leaving the tarmac at Thirlby Farm, turning left to follow a track through a grassy meadow. We continued on our path, sometimes across fields and sometimes through trees, steadily approaching Boltby.
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| Turn left at the sign |
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| ... and follow field tracks |
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| Freshly released into the fields but very quiet |
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| Lots of Hawthorn blossom about |
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| Boltby appears ahead |
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| Packhorse bridge at Boltby |
At Boltby we turned left at the packhorse bridge and walked through the pretty village before turning right at a waymarked sign at the lane between Spring Garth and Gurtof House.
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| Once The Johnson Arms, now a pony trekking centre |
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| Ravensthorpe Manor in the distance. We see there has been much felling above the hall |
The path around Ravensthorpe Manor has been re-routed and takes one much higher towards the top of Westhow Plantation. This is a steep climb at this stage of the walk. We were just below the skyline in the above photo and walked through the few trees left after felling with no view whatsoever of Ravensthorpe Manor, which I'm sure will have been the principal reason for re-routing the path.
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| An old photo of Ravensthorpe Manor |
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| Walking above the Manor on the new track |
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| A bit like The Somme |
Eventually we rejoined the old path and we followed it as it descended towards Kirby Knowle and the end of the walk.
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| Kirby Knowle |
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| Back at St Wilfred's in Kirby Knowle |
This is a nice walk taking you through some pretty villages but it needs navigation preparation because, as stated in the text, many paths appear unwalked.
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| "'To the Turton Beckstead!" |
